Gee
From The Smile Shop
Gee, combined with Our Prayer, is the first track on Brian Wilson Presents SMiLE.
Contents |
Sessions
February 15, 1967
| Song title: Heroes and Villains | |
| Studio: | Western Recorders |
| Time of session: | 11 PM to 2:30 AM |
| Engineer: | Chuck Britz |
| Master Number: | 57020 |
| Length Of Song: | unknown |
| Musicians/vocalists: | 19 musicians -- Hal Blaine (drums), Norman W. Botnick (viola), Joseph Di Tullio (cello), Jesse Erlich (cello), Gene P. Estes (percussion), George W. Lyle / George Tyler (unknown), Carol Kaye (bass guitar), William Kurasch (violin), Tommy Morgan (harmonica), Alexander Neiman (viola), Van Dyke Parks (unknown), Bill Pitman (guitar), Ray Pohlman (guitar), Jerome J. Reisler (violin), Lyle Ritz (upright bass), Ralph Schaeffer (violin), Sidney Sharp (violin), John T. Vidnaich (Vidor), Walter B. Wiemeyer (violin) (NOTE: some names partially obscured on AFM) |
The French horn ending to Gee is recorded during a Heroes and Villains session.
Gee is a song from 1953 by the Crows. Per the Wikipedia, "The Crows were one of the first doo wop groups in American history, and their one major hit, Gee (1953) was an important early rock and roll hit. It took almost a year to reach the top of the charts, peaking at #14 on the pop charts and #2 on the R&B charts."
Per Tom Tobben, Gee is a "1954 popular doo-wop song by the Crows, written by George Goldner and William Davis, sometimes credited as one of the first rock and roll songs."
Peter Reum says "The genius of (Smile's) structure and flow reminded me so much of Rhapsody in Blue... a vibrant and grand initial movement, starting as dramatically as the Rhapsody's clarinet glissando... using an acapella prayer, followed by a small "quote" from what many consider to be the first rock and roll record- "Gee" by the Crows, letting you know this is a Rock composition. It is also interesting that the musical content of Smile moves from a riff from Gee at its beginning to the most musically advanced rock record up to that time "Good Vibrations." The sweeping passages evoking the landscape of America from The Old West to Plymouth Rock, the Great Plains to Hawaii, to Native America. The first section of Rhapsody covers similar territory, one has visions of 1920s America, economically robust, turned inward in self-awareness, bustling with busy cities, railroads, and unfettered optimism. I would call Smile's First Movement Americana, not that my opinion counts."
February 21, 1967
| Song title: Heroes And Villains | |
| Studio: | Western Recorders |
| Time of session: | unknown |
| Engineer: | unknown |
| Master Number: | unknown |
| Length Of Song: | unknown |
| Musicians/vocalists: | group (Brian plus 4) |
The vocals for Gee are recorded during a Heroes And Villains session.
Available Session Recordings
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Official Releases
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
